wrote in message
...
On Apr 19, 9:23 am, "
wrote:
On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:04:14 -0500, wrote:
How do they read "Smart Meters"?

I've heard two different stories on this.

1. They can read my usage anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and
do so right at the power company. Supposedly the signal is sent via the
power lines to their office.

2. They can only read these meters by driving past the residence or
business where the meter is located, the signal is sent by a radio wave
and is limited to a certain number of feet from the meter, which they
read once a month by driving past homes with their meters. The vehicles
they drive have a receiver to read them.

Which of these is true?

Both.

---

This brings up another thought.....
What would happen if I removed my "Smart meter"? Would an alarm go off
in their office? In the old days, when I had to work on the mains or
service entrance (beyond the meter) in a home, I'd just pull the meter,
do the work, and put the meter back. Then I'd notify the power company
to tell them that I cut the band on the meter, and why I had to do so. I
never got any complains since I had legitimate reasons to do it.
I'd hesitate to do that these days.... even with a legitimate reason....

Call your power company and ask. Do you think there is one answer?- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'm trying to imagine the legitmate reasons to cut the seal
on the meter before calling the electric company..... I
saw it done once. The house was on fire and the fire company
did it

Another one is to install a surge protector ahead of the main breaker. The
only way to do that safely is to pull the meter -- at least that was the
suggestion in the instructions for the surge protector.

Tomsic